A thermal transfer printer conventionally includes a thermal print head utilized to thermally transfer a portion of ink from an ink ribbon to print media such as paper, labels, tickets, etc. as the ink ribbon is unwound. The thermal print head presses against the print media to thermally transfer the ink portion thereto.
The pressure of the thermal print head against the print media affects print registration and print quality. The correct pressure depends upon the thickness of the print media. Thermal print head pressure may be set by the user and the setting may not be optimum or correct for the thickness of the print media, resulting in unsatisfactory print registration and print quality.
Therefore, a need exists for systems and methods for detecting a print media thickness of print media in a printer, to provide for an optimal thermal pressure head (TPH) pressure on the print media having the detected print media thickness.